This afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, it will be the #13-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (16-18) and the #1-seed Purdue Boilermakers (27-5) in the United Center for the first of two semi-final games of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.
Projected Starting Line-ups:
Ohio State - Justice Sueing, Felix Okpara, Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Jr., and Sean McNeil (Brice Sensabaugh was out yesterday due to a possible knee injury - looks like he has been ruled out for the season with an update on his status)
Purdue - Mason Gillis, Zach Edey, Brandon Newman, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
Purdue won both of the regular season meetings. On January 5, Purdue escaped with a two-point win 71-69 in a game that could easily could have gone the other way. Zed Key injured his shoulder early in that game, playing only 4 minutes. In the second game in Mackey Arena on February 19, Purdue broke things open late in the first half and early second half to win 82-55.
Matt Painter has since made a couple of line-up changes with Mason Gillis and Brandon Newman in the starting line-up.
After struggling for most of the conference season, Ohio State has started to play well. They were solid all game in outplaying Michigan State yesterday - and that was without their best player, Brice Sensabaugh. Purdue will have its hands full today, and they'll need another strong effort to come out on top.
Even without Brice Sensabaugh, the Buckeyes still have players who are capable of making plays, and Bruce Thornton was terrific yesterday - look for him to pose some problems for the Purdue back-court players. Sean McNeil got off to a fast start in the game at Mackey Arena this year - the Boilers will need to keep an eye on him.
Justice Sueing was very good yesterday, other than getting in some foul trouble. Purdue will need to try and contain Sueing and limit his abilities to open up opportunities for teammates. The Boilers will also need to limit second chance opportunities, which has been a little bit of problem down the stretch - Purdue has shown some vulnerability to that. Roddy Gayle, Jr. could be a wildcard - very talented freshman guard with length who can shoot - he had 15 yesterday and was 3/3 from beyond the arc.
Ultimately, for Purdue, it will be all about execution and hitting some shots - sometimes it can sound like a broken record, but it's a simple formula (not always easy, however) - maximize possessions through limiting turnovers and getting production on the offensive glass and making a good percentage of shots. The bench was a boost yesterday with Ethan Morton and David Jenkins, Jr., and Mason Gillis was outstanding, leading the team with 20 points. If they can replicate that type of production, that would take some pressure off Zach Edey and Braden Smith and also make Purdue tougher to guard in general.
The winner today will face off against the winner of Penn State/Indiana in the BTT Championship tomorrow afternoon. The Boilers had a tough, hard fought battle yesterday in knocking off Rutgers. Can the Boilers keep things rolling and get another chance for the BTT title? We shall see, starting in a little over an hour.
Boiler Up, my friends.
